How To Keep Wasps Away From Wood Deck

Wasps are small yet dangerous insects. They have sharp and painful stings for both kids and adults. These insects are popular during the warm months of spring through the fall and can sting you unexpectedly. If you are worried about these insects, then here’s how to keep wasps away from wood deck.

If you are looking to keep wasps away from your wood deck, you’ll have to follow a few steps that involve different materials such as water, soap, garlic, etc., as shown in the procedure below.

Keeping wasps away from your deck will allow your kids and pets to play around freely without the fear of unforeseen stings.

Methods To Keep Wasps Away From Your Deck

Method One

The first thing that you should do in a bid to keep wasps away from your outdoor structures is by combining liquid hand soap and water and transfer it to a spray bottle. Ensure that you have this solution at hand whenever you are outside on walking around your deck. Spray the wasps using the mixture as it is an excellent repellant for wasps.

Method Two

Use a WD-40 to saturate the net of the wasps. This compound is flammable, so avoid lighting the nest with fire as you may end up burning the wood on your structure in the process. Just the fumes and oil from this compound handle the insects, killing them in the process.

Method Three

Alternatively, you can stash sheets of fabric softener around the wooden structures around the flower pots. The scent emanating from the fabric softener is good at repelling the wasps. The advantage of using this softener is that it repels the mosquitoes as well.

Method Four

One other way of repelling the wasps from your deck is by Inserting a whole clove into a few oranges and putting it around the wood’s surface. These insects do not like the scents and will flee the area.

Method Five

Mix the garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper in a bowl and sprinkle onto the nest. Considering that these insects do not like the smell from the mixture, they will leave the nest.

Why Are Wasps Attracted To My Deck?

The wooden decks offer both shelter and protection to the wasps, which explains why they are attracted to deck. The wood fibers on your deck, fences, and other structures provide a perfect condition and space for yellow jackets and hornets to build their nests.

How to Keep Wasps From Coming Back

Wasps are very curious, especially if there are a lot of different scents coming from your house. They are attracted to virtually all sweet smells. Additionally, these insects love water and can sense it when it is evaporating in the air. If you have pools of water around your home, don’t be surprised to see wasps coming around frequently. So how do you keep wasps from coming back to your deck and it’s closer environments?

Employ the methods below to help stop the wasps from coming back to your home or areas around your wooden deck.

Method One

If you have a flying insecticide, then spray it under your home’s eaves in the early days of the spring and again. Ensure that you coat the eave’s underside plus the portion of siding that is beneath the eave. This action does not directly repel a wasp; however, it kills the wasp soon as it comes into contact with the surfaces. I’d advise that you go for an insecticide that contains either Tetramethin or 1-Methylethoxy as its main active ingredient.

Method Two

Set up the wasps traps around your home to ensure that these insects do not come back. You can do this by mixing some beer, jam, orange juice, small pieces of fruits and water in a can. Using scissors, cut a quarter-sized hole in the lid, and put the lid on the can. Put these traps closer to the windows and doors. Once the wasps enter the trap, they and can’t get out and will die in the end.

Method Three

Ensure that you store all your fruits in the refrigerator. Wasps love sweet fruity smells and will swarm your home if there’s such smell. If you have fruit sitting on your counter closer to an open window, it will draw the wasps towards your home, that’s why I advise that you keep the fruits in the fridge.

Method Four

If you have or can get aerosol pyrethrin, spray it on the plants around the birdbaths around your home. Applying this spray once every day will ensure that your surrounding is free from wasps making it safe for your kids and pets.

If you can mist the areas once every week, you will not have wasps building nests in the surrounding area. This chemical does not pose any health risk to pets or humans.

Method Five

Spray a cypermethrin chemical in the underneath part of your wooden decks once or twice each month. Wood releases smell that wasps love, and if the deck is low on the ground, you’ll likely have wasps camping underneath it, which is why spraying the mentioned chemical help keep them away.

Watch the video below on how to keep wasps away from your deck:

Plants That Can Help Keep Wasps Away From Your Deck

It can sometimes be tiring and costly to apply methods of keeping wasps away, such as spraying with different types of chemicals. So what options do you have? 

Some plants repel wasps, and planting them presents one of the most effective and effortless ways of keeping your surroundings free from wasps. As you already know, Wasps love sweet smells and detest the powerful odor that some plants produce.

If you can have fragrant herbs, like Artemisia absinthium (Wormwood), Mentha spicata (Spearmint), and Thymus vulgaris (Thyme), you will be doing a great job of keeping the wasps away from your area. Additionally, you will be using these plants for different cooking recipes, which is a bonus.

Have you ever smelt that comes from Eucalyptus leaves? If you haven’t, I’d tell you that it is refreshing that why the Koalas love them. Wasps, on the contrary, hate them.

Cymbopogon (Lemongrass) has a strong fragrant aroma and is excellent at repelling the wasps away. So you can consider planting this around your home as well.

If you’d love to plant a deterrent that will also double as a beautiful flower for display, then go for Mentha pulegium (Pennyroyals), Geraniums, or Calendula (Marigolds). These plants brighten up the garden and, at the same time, help keep the wasps at bay, giving your family including pets, peace around the garden and deck.

NOTE: Other plants are attractive and will add beauty to your surrounding. They include Foeniculum vulgare (Sweet Fennel), Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s Lace) as well as Achillea millefolium (Yarrow). Much as you love them, you should know that wasps love them as well. If you don’t want to bring more wasps to your garden and deck surrounding, you will have to sacrifice your love for these plants.

Conclusion

If you haven’t had a sting from a wasp, then don’t wish for one. It’s worse than the ones you’d get from bees. These insects are rampant during the warm seasons and can be a nuisance and danger to you, your little ones, and even pets. You should, therefore, do everything that you can to keep these insects at bay. So, 

Here’s How To Keep Wasps Away From Wood Deck

I’ve provided different methods that you can apply to help keep the wasps off your deck and garden. However, I find those methods, especially those involving the use of chemicals as tiring and costly methods. Plants as the repellants might be the best method as you don’t have to do spraying from time to time.

Do you have problems with wasps? Did you find this article helpful? Kindly share your thoughts with me in the comment section below.